Tomo means cave

...and for the lil trickers daring to walk about in the dark here on Tomo st - We have TREATS ready!

Red Cross Design Challenge - Voting Time!!

Ok all the unpicking RSI, tears, and oodles of less landfill later...

it is time for YOU to do your bit too, and VOTE VOTE VOTE :)

Head on over to NZ Fashion Tech's Facebook page here

& if you can find the picture above please 'like' it with allll your might !!

Thank you Mucho !!

& if you yourself might like yourself a pair of the adjustable 'forager' culottes, just get in touch I am happy to rescue more blazers and make some more.

News!

Head on down to Ecostore - 1 Scotland street, Freemans bay

It's beautiful and big and awesomely green inside, its one of those places you just want to spend time in, perusing, reading, soaking up the goodness & always finding a new way to do something better for our planet. They even have a giant sized, table height, herb garden!

aaannnnddd now they are stocking a whole bunch of my 

handmade

100% recycled

one of a kind

resendable

CARDS!!

Thanks Ecostore for supporting handmade, environment lovin' craft!

As they say...

THIS is ma jammm!!

You know you have become a 'factory' when...

....you don't take a dinner break! (and your dining table looks like this)

 I thought I was pretty well stocked of cards, but stocked turned to STOKED when a special friend purchased 16 cards the other night! Thanks SharC!

Now she is set for a while, and for all occasions too!

I am thinking of setting up some packs, for people like SharC who like to keep a wee stash.

What kind of cards do you like to keep on hand?

Birthday? Get Well Soon? New Baby? 

 Tonight I did a couple of Halloween ones too, for the jack of it really.

See them all & many other cardy friends in their cardy flesh here:

Saturday in the heart of Kingsland at the Love Vintage & Retro Market

Sunday in Grey Lynn Community Centre at Kraftbomb

Keepin it crafty and creative like the others over here!

New badges!

I found these funky badges out at the Piha Market day in the weekend:

& in other news...
Check out the AAAmazing vendor list for Decembers Auckland Art n Craft Fair

(there's something I might quite like you to spot in there)

Adventures Of Alex O & Co, Annie B Handmade, AVIVA Creative, Baileys Alchemy, bakadesign, Belle and Beau, Ben Campbell Photography, Binford Luthiery, birdinabunnysuit, Bits & Kaboodles, Blendy Knits, Bobae, Bohemian Hair Feathers, Bonjour Sweetie, Borrowed Earth, Broken Bits, Chan Andreassend, Cheek pinchy, Chouette, Cloud Nine Creative, Creatures of Chaos, dML, Donna Shaw, Doppel, DUDO STUDIO, ellaquaint, Emma Walsh Design, Extra Curricular magazine, Frost+Dinkie, Go Ask Alice, Green Heart Jewellery, Happy-go-knitty, Hayley B, Heavenly Nature, Helen Kerrigan, Hilary Upton Photography, Hue, Hunter Gatherer, Hunting Letter Flags, Hydrangea Ranger, I Am WoRm- Independent Jewellery, Illustration Bin, Irina Miro Designs, Jacolily Design, Jayne Shearer Art, Jeannette Switzer Jewellery & Art, Jena Rae Jewellery, Kids Art Design, Kiko, Lace and Wood, Linen Tea, LornaLove, Lucy Patterson, Lula, LUU, Made by Hayley R, Make Believe, Matakana Plant Markers, Millicent Crow, Miss Tiki, Missgarden, Native Creative, New Zealand Bee Lights, Nice Blocks, Nobue K Jewellery, NZ Green Buttons, Odd One Out, Plastic Fairy, Porcelain Rove, R* Glamour, Reignbow, Rock & Roller Coasters, Rosie Squish, Ruby In The Dust, run.cutie Jewellery + Design, Shelley d, SilverStone Jewellery Ltd, SneakyStudios, SUM;D, SUSHI KING, Suze Design, The Fairy Godmother, The Khalada Stone, The Little Craft Store, The Little White Box, The Stitchsmith, Tiny Happy, TOFUTREE ART & DESIGN, Toodles Noodles - New Zealand Made and Owned, Trinity Street Loft, Tui, While Molly Naps, With Love From Monique, Wolf Cub, Woodlands Enchanted, Xander & Karla Jane, Zazu Jewellery, Zippitydoodah

Yes that is right, It is with such glee (damm that tv show ruined that adjective) 

that I now get to wear this lovely badge:

...jumping for joy !!

Judgement Day for The Red Cross Design Challenge

Walking in to course this morning it was fabulous to see everyones upcycling projects all laid out and looking fabulous - seriously how many bags of landfill uglyness did we shoosh up???!!!

I had been away at work experience at the awesome SBN so I joined my two looks to the room

It has definately come a long way from the first sketches - so much crammed into one week

Then it was presentation time to all the lovely judges. It was great to have wonderful models, and dress them up in new/old gears and then have the opportunity to present my design and strong beliefs on upcycling and saving stuff from landfill to the panel.

Coming away with Highly Commended was fabulous, looking here at what I started out with:

& all the bits and bobs I crafted them in to:

My motto being: No scrap is too big or too small not to be made into something

Making flowers out of tiny strips & leftover collars, and I stuffed a bangle with an entire jacket lining!

Check all the colourful brilliance surrounding the room

Meet the gorgeous Olivia (above) who worked her shirts and jacket into wonderous prettyness 

& Shayna who turned dress pants into the most funky hoodie (below) - I SO badly want to own.

 and if you thought an anorak could never get more 80's ... well here is one awesome jacket that needs to be rocked, made from the green anorak, and a dowdy old black jacket. Holly was one of the named winners with this one. Props to you lass!

There will be more pics and a video following our class through this challenge, and online voting too to find the overall winner. But for now, I am popping up my feet, feeling stoked to have completed this task, and even more stoked at all the funky gears now given new life! yahoo!

The Red Cross Design Challenge Cont...

The challenge week is pretty much over, and I have well and truly pulled my hair out over this one.

Not because the challenge has been SOO hard, but more so because I believe SOO much in the purpose of the whole project. Reducing the amount of clothing getting dumped into the ground every day! As I said before, this is something that I literally live for! I just expected so much of myself with this & I've got mucho frustrated when things didn't go to plan...

A) Somehow my drawstring/suspender shorts made from a mans blazer ended up being replicated in another persons outfit...Copycats, its nothing new in the fashion industry I know, sigh! 

B) When going to Quality Control on friday my items got well and truly picked over and the so called 'constructive criticism' ended up just criticism & some interesting choices of words to do anything but inspire students onwards & upwards, especially when they are so passionate, Sigh!

Thankfully I had the escape to Coromandel to look forward to.

Some hugs from mum, a forage through the fruit trees, and a bit of this:

Thanks for all your help mum!

Here's to tomorrow, the last day of the challenge!

Garage sale-ing to the maximus

It was not quite the same as last year, 

the streets were a little less stalls, and a lot more puddles

but nonetheless just as much fun, prancing about the great Ngatea Garage Sale today.

I was glad to not spend even half my tiny budget, and came away with some fabulous old ripped apart & rotting books & a couple of empty picture frames for some new card displays.

Testing out my new theory: If I cannot afford to buy it, take a picture of it.

Happy weekending everyone, blustery as it is.

Frocktober

...Is going well. Day 13 today, and I uncovered some more dresses in a visit home to the coromandel

More like SMOCKtober here...

If I find I have more dresses than need be to cover every day of october, 

it is indeed a sign to arrange a frocking good garage sale!

The Red Cross Design Challenge

Just when I thought my pattern making course couldn't get any better, on monday we had some special guests come into the classroom. Something exciting was in the air...and I got giddy as soon as I caught a glimpse of the guest's Red Cross name badge. ooeee something op shoppy?

We were assigned the challenge:

From a mystery bag of 5-6 clothing items from The Red Cross, make two complete looks, 

one daywear, one formal/evening.

Due Tuesday 16th! (THATS ONLY 7 DAYS

ummm...pretty much what I live for!

OMG!

After a bit of legal swap and trade amongst the classmates, 

I reviewed my items & began to sketch some design options 

(sorry my camera was failing me miserably through this week so not too many pics)

With the point of this challenge being a sustainable look at fashion, and the endless possibilities that upcycling from our op shops can bring... I have focussed on what is most imporatant to me, sustainability & longer lifetime of garments with more loose fitting/adjustable options to give room for size changing, or clothes swapping too! 

I only have buttons on the garments I got so everything has to button close! no zips!...perhaps drawstring! I started first up by laying out my patterns on the linen green blazer to form my culottes. Check out how lucky I was to just miss the button hole (above) ooo thats a lil bit of op shop karma. I used this sleeve (below) to cut up strips for my drawstring. Drawstrings sound rather sportswear, or grandad trackpant-esque, but I think I have done my best to make them funky street for this challenge...

It has been suprising unpicking everything and pressing out facings and scoring some larger homesewn seam allowances - so much fabric to work with.... and in other ways, so little fabric to work with. dah!

Everyone is getting super creative chopping and mismatching textiles together. Classic shapes and fun summery looks with all this inspiring sunshine about. If you are a fan of shorts, there are plenty of styles being made out of many items: Linen jackets, flannel shirts, a pleated skirt even! A lot of stressy moments too with the 'is this going to work' screams! - we need Tim Gunn in house for morale.

Our completed looks will all go to judging next week, and also online on facebook for public voting too. I will share the links when I know what they are. So PLEASE stay tuned in! :) & feel free to send in any op shop/upcycle questions I am more than happy to help. xx

If you're a fan of a good op shop...

...Then you would look like this:

And you would definately like to visit the New Lynn Hospice Shop!

 It is big bright and merry - every visit feels like christmas!

 I havent been to an op shop in a while - a rule in the 'save money plan' but a crafty friends nudge sent me back to my old local in New Lynn. Oh bless its Delta Ave socks.

 Check this gorgeous craft and sewing display, hardly resistable

and there was heeapps more fabric that way

Sunshining Saturdays are meant for golden treasure hunts in places like these.

LIKE some cake, and eat it too

In the big beautiful world of craft markets where we are surrounded by scrummy cupcakes & cake pops...today at Made & Found Market there was a special something different...

Delish, devine ACTUAL cakes! 

Full and round and glorious, your slice cut with a beauty big knife.

I discovered (oogled at, oogled some more then finally bought 2 pieces of) Dolce Cakes - YUM!

I got peanut butter/chocolate tart - OMG sticky fingers right now. 

& a vegan vanilla with bright red STRAWBs on top AND in the middle 

My first strawbs of this summer. Clearly a good day.